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In a crisis like Covid-19, SME/firms' ability to execute business activities via internal and external social capital networks would undoubtedly boost their entrepreneurial orientation (EO), access to support, and enhance performance. This study bridges the gap on how social capital activates SMEs entrepreneurial orientation, access to government support policies (GSPs), and performance in emerging markets amidst Covid-19. We received questionnaires from 369 firm-owners via a simple sampling technique, and the data was analyzed using PLS-SEM software. The findings show that social capital, access to government assistance policies, and proactiveness influence SME performance, but not innovation or risk-taking. Similarly, social capital significantly impacts access to GSPs, innovativeness, proactiveness, and risktaking. The study resonates with the need for firms to focus more on their social capital and utilize it to devise strategies to enhance their chances of attaining support from the government, friends, relations, and other institutions to augment their EO and performance during and after this Covid-19 pandemic. Our study's novelty is also that it expanded the use of the social capital and resource base view theories of SMEs in developing countries, particularly in pandemics. Finally, we provided suggestions for SMEowners, policymakers, and further researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the importance of entrepreneurship and innovation in the Pharmaceutical industry, the current study investigates the moderation role of Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) on the influence of innovation on Pharmaceutical SMEs performance in Jordan. The current research was conducted on Jordanian pharmaceutical SMEs including manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies with employee numbers of less than 100. The research design was quantitative, descriptive, causal, and cross-sectional held by an online questionnaire tool targeted all employees, managers, and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) in pharmaceutical SMEs. Using the AMOS software, the Structural Equation Model (SEM) was adopted to analyze a sample of 162 surveys and examine the hypotheses. The outcome of this study indicated that the research model variables can explain 69.4 % of the variance of SMEs' performance. Additionally, it confirmed that innovation has a significant positive impact on pharmaceutical SMEs, and Entrepreneurial Orientation moderates the influence of innovation on pharmaceutical SMEs' Performance. Furthermore, current research findings contribute to extending existing relevant knowledge about the innovation impact and moderating role of Entrepreneurial Orientation on pharmaceutical SMEs' performance in Jordan and understanding the relationship between these variables to be of significant guidance to managing entrepreneurship in emerging economies. Further, the results show SMEs' methods and directions to follow during crises, such as COVID-19, to maintain business performance and sustainability. The current research paper contributes to the present literature since very limited studies investigated the innovation impact on SMEs' performance. Moreover, previous studies did not sufficiently analyze the impact of management, product, and process dimensions of innovation on SMEs' performance with the contribution of EO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]